Show I I THE BOER AND THE SCRIPTURES Primitive Faith of the People of Oom SQ Paul in the Bible Sit where you are and trust In God sternly commanded Paul Kruger In Holland the other day as his frightened fright-ened secretary leaped from the carriage car-riage But the vigorous old man while he spake reached past ilM dihcr the runaway horses to a i I and pulled I walk The words and the deed arc 1 alike characteristic the singular man 1 who rebuked the enthusiastic Dutch when they cheered him on the Sabbath day and who began his futile quest for an intervention by sending to his wltc the Biblical text Thou shalt toad upon the Hon S There is an element of fatalism in Oom Paul and a vein of piety akin to S superstition as there have been In so many strong men notably both In Cromwell and Lincoln to each oC whom Indeed Englishmen compared the Doer President before their Government Gov-ernment went to war with him That ald man Paul Kruftv Michael Davltt f Is reported to have said shortly before the fall Of Pretoria is engaged In a sort of spiritualist seance business with j some blihd boy predicting events that are to happen on certain days There I Is before us an address of Mr Kruger r delivered at a joint session of tho Volksraad called at about the same I time in which arguments on the franchise fran-chise are Interlarded with scriptural I S texts wherein ifiV British empire is j seen to be the beast of Revelation the devil who walketh about as a roaring lion Ahab and the present Babylon I The Lord Mr Kruger concludes is still I the Boer commanderInchlef I Much has been said about the Boers i primitive faith In specific Interventions j of providence as well as his Inclination to Interpret biblical texts in the light of current events and there is no doubt that from a military standpoint this j trait of Ms Character Is not altogether i fortunate A tex t Jn Psalms forbidding i forbid-ding the pursuit oan enemy has saved defeated British forces from being rundown run-down and destroyed and only the other day at Magalicsberg Ciements was permitted Ret away while the victors I held a thanksgiving service on the Held I of battle Nevertheless It Is his faith that the Lord rules and that the day of grace Is not far Cram his people 1 that has given the burgher the staying I power which by exhausting his opponents op-ponents affords his best hope of final victory And his fatalism is of that vigorous sort that led Paul Kruger louse lo-use his own gigantic strength In a runaway run-away even while calling on the Lord New York Mail and Express |